July, 24 2019, 12:00am EDT
Millions Gear Up to Take Part in September's Global Climate Strikes
Millions will take part in global climate strikes on the 20th + 27th September, and the "Week for Future" in between. Organisers say that it is on course to be the largest global mobilization against climate breakdown, with over 6000 people in 150 countries pledging to organise events to date.
Global
Millions will take part in global climate strikes on the 20th + 27th September, and the "Week for Future" in between. Organisers say that it is on course to be the largest global mobilization against climate breakdown, with over 6000 people in 150 countries pledging to organise events to date.
The weeklong movement will surround the UN Climate Summit being held on the 23rd of September in New York, which aims to meet the climate challenge by accelerating actions to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
"It is time for world leaders to wake up to the truth of the climate crisis. By demonstrating people's power we will make this week a turning point in history. The climate crisis is an emergency. We have to act like it so we will stop our business as usual and show governments what people want: climate justice. This September, millions of us will walk out of homes and workplaces onto the streets and demand an end to the age of fossil fuel." say school strikers.
The range of actions is huge: from people downing tools and walking out of work to join strikes, rallies, music concerts and marches. From teach ins in libraries, people's assemblies discussing actions and policies benefiting their local communities, protests targeting fossil fuel companies responsible for the climate crisis, and the banks that fund them; to spending the day raising awareness in communities and pushing for solutions to the climate crisis that have justice and equity at their heart.
"This shouldn't be just the children's responsibility. Now, the adults also need to help us. We are calling for them to strike from their work, we need everyone. There is nothing we can't do, iIf not you, then who else, if not now, then when? Greta Thunberg
Support for the strikes and week of future has been growing with parents, academics, bakers, trade unions, doctors, farmers, caretakers, celebrities, and teachers among those organising for September 20-27.
Unions across the globe are building solidarity with the school strikers and are now gearing up with inspiring action plans to support the climate strikes.
Pioneering companies and banks have also declared themselves closed for business so employees can join youth strikers in the streets.
Throughout the week the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice will also take hundreds of actions around the world as part of its annual Reclaim Power mobilisations calling for the transformation of the energy system.
Quotes:
-I am joining the strikes because I believe it's time to resist and to take charge of the future that belongs to us, not to the fossil fuel companies.A.G. Sano, Philippines - artist
-We need you to be a part of it because we need every age involved Young people have been leading here but now it's the job of the rest of us to back them up. Bill McKibben 350.org
-I support the climate strikes to push climate leaders to act for a brighter future for everyone" EKPE Dzidodo Koudjo, Chairman of VIVAS FM, a farmer solidarity organisation, Togo
-I'm going to participate in the Global Climate Strikes on September 20th because I believe it's our responsibility to take care of our house Flavia Rugai Freire, Brazil School Striker
-Millions of people we work with are already living with the devastating consequences of climate change. For communities across South Asia struggling to survive extreme monsoon rains, floods and landslides, and those in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe whose farmland was destroyed by Cyclone Idai, the climate crisis is part of their everyday lives.
Climate justice means supporting our sisters and brothers in the global south who are already suffering. It's time for the wealthy countries who have done the most to cause climate change to step up by cutting emissions and providing finance for those most impacted.
We'll be working with young people, indigenous communities and rural women - whose experiences are too often overlooked - to rise up and demand climate justice. Harjeet Singh, ActionAid's global lead on climate change
-We stand with the youth who are taking a stance today and raising up their voices to be able to have a real impact. Joey Bergstein, CEO, Seventh Generation
-We should act immediately, regardless of governments, corporations, or individuals. Steven Ko CEO of O'Right
-At Lush, we've always championed environmental justice, and a just transition to renewable energy. We are acutely aware of the urgency of the climate crisis and that's why we're participating in the Climate Strike. From now until September we'll be motivating our customers to join us on the streets and demand that global leaders take bold steps to safeguard our futures." Brandi Halls, Director of Brand at Lush Cosmetics.
-Multinational corporations aren't going to give up anything unless we fight. This is a fight for ourselves, for our future, and for future generations. This is a fight for justice for all: workers, students, parents, teachers, conservatives, liberals, socialists, and everyone else. We can fight against climate breakdown, and we can fight against environmental destruction. We need to all be part of this, or else the establishment won't budge. We can do this, if we do this together." Evan Cholerton, Earth Strike International
-Climate breakdown is one of the greatest human rights issue we face. It means food supplies failing, fuel shortages, dwindling access to drinking water, and homes being swallowed by the sea. It means forced migration and worsening resource conflict. It means more frequent and ferocious natural disasters. Protesting against climate breakdown is about much more than emissions and scientific metrics - it's about building a just and sustainable world that works for all of us.
The world needs a global 'green new deal' that tackles the root causes of inequality and the climate crisis together. We need a deal based upon the principles of climate justice and universal rights for all." May Boeve 350.org
I encourage all to support the Global Climate Strikes on September 20th and September 27th to demand immediate climate action. We need everyone on the streets both days to show solidarity for those who are fighting the climate crisis and those who are currently affected by it. This goes beyond tracking emissions - we need to be equally protecting the Amazon and Indigenous peoples as well as make changes to have clean, safe water and land for all animal life. See you on the streets. - Andrea Shaw, Earth Strike
Students led the way, but it's time for workers to join in. Make no mistake: this is our last chance. As wildfires multiply and food security is already being threatened in some regions, we realize it's not only our future, but our present safety that's at stake. Governments must act. And if they don't, we intend to do whatever's necessary to force their hand. - Francois Geoffroy, La Planete s'invite au Parlement
"We need world leaders to wake up to the truth of the climate crisis. And because we don't have a single year to loose, we're going to make this week a turning point in history. We young people have understood that the climate crisis is an emergency. And We ask Everyone to act like it, to stop business as usual with us. This September, millions of us across the globe will join us on the streets to demand the end of empty commitment but real change and real climate action" Luisa Neubauer, Fridays for Future Germany
Notes
Support for climate strike grows
- Parents' letter
- 224 Academics support the brave stand of the school climate strike children
- Teachers want climate crisis training, poll shows
- Bakers, Food, and Allied Workers Union supports the Climate Strike
- Trade Union supports students climate strikes
- Green Building Store joins the Global Climate Strike
- Doctors against climate catastrophe
- Workers strike will reveal if firms really care about climate change
350 is building a future that's just, prosperous, equitable and safe from the effects of the climate crisis. We're an international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all.
LATEST NEWS
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly growing increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for him and other top government officials for committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip.
The Times of Israelreported Sunday that the Israeli government, in partnership with the U.S., is "making a concerted effort to head off" possible arrest warrants from the ICC, which first launched its war crimes investigation in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2021.
Israel does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction and has refused to cooperate with the probe. The ICC says it has jurisdiction over Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
Citing an unnamed Israeli government source, The Times of Israel reported that "a major focus of the ICC allegations will be that Israel 'deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza.'" Other officials who could face arrest warrants are Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
The Times of Israel's reporting came shortly after Israeli journalist Ben Caspit wrote that Netanyahu is "under unusual stress" over the possibility of arrest warrants and is leading a "nonstop push over the telephone" to forestall ICC action.
Like Israel, the U.S. is not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC in 2002. The legal body is tasked with investigating individuals, not governments.
The U.S., Israel's leading arms supplier, has opposed the ICC's Palestine investigation from the start, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying in a 2021 statement that the court "has no jurisdiction over this matter" because "Israel is not a party to the ICC."
But the Biden administration vocally supported the ICC's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over war crimes committed in Ukraine, even though neither Russia nor Ukraine are parties to the Rome Statute.
Seeing commentary that ICC arrest warrants against Israeli officials would create a dangerous precedent because Israel isn’t a party to the Rome Statute.
Guess who else isn’t a party to the Rome Statute?
Russia.
ICC already crossed that bridge with warrant for Putin.
— Brian Finucane (@BCFinucane) April 28, 2024
The Israeli government has been accused of committing numerous war crimes in Gaza since the October 7 Hamas-led attack, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, and using starvation as a weapon of war. Late last year, the human rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now submitted to the ICC the names of dozens of Israeli military commanders who are believed to have been directly involved in violations of international law.
Reports of potentially imminent ICC action have sparked alarm among conservatives in the United States.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote on social media Friday that the court should "should stand down on this immediately."
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editorial published that same day, The Wall Street Journal suggested the U.S. and United Kingdom could "risk finding Americans and Britons under the gun" next if they don't warn ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan against issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials. Human rights organizations and legal experts have said Biden and other U.S. officials could be held liable under international law if they continue supporting Israel's war on Gaza.
"Mr. Khan's candidacy was championed by his native Britain and supported by the U.S.," continues the Journal editorial, "so both countries may have influence if they warn Mr. Khan of what will happen if he proceeds."
The Times of Israelnoted Sunday that according to reports in several Israeli media outlets, the U.S. is "part of a last-ditch diplomatic effort to prevent the International Criminal Court from issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials."
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, argued Sunday that "there is absolutely no reason for Biden to be involved in this."
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"Today's leak should mark a final end to this impunity. President Biden has no choice but to fully enforce the law and halt aid to Israel."
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The memo, first reported by Reuters on Saturday, is a joint submission from the State Department's bureaus of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Population, Refugees, and Migration; Global Criminal Justice; and International Organization Affairs.
The leaked document raises "serious concern over non-compliance" with international law, specifically citing the Israeli military's repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure, refusal to investigate or punish those responsible for atrocities, and killing of "humanitarian workers and journalists at an unprecedented rate," according to Reuters.
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Human rights groups have been documenting Israel's atrocities and systematic obstruction of aid for months, but the Biden administration has continued approving weapons sales for the Netanyahu government despite U.S. laws prohibiting arms transfers to countries violating human rights and blocking American humanitarian assistance.
Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said Saturday that "the State Department's leaked confirmation that Israel has restricted the transport and delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance leaves no doubt: U.S. law requires the suspension of military aid to Israel."
"For too long, the Biden administration has breached or ignored U.S. laws that require the suspension of aid to an abusive regime like Israel, fueling Israeli belligerence and rewarding its atrocities," said Whitson. "It's time for real consequences."
"Suspending military aid is the bare minimum the U.S. must do to avoid further complicity in these abuses."
In March, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant penned a letter assuring the Biden administration that the Israeli military's use of American weaponry has been in line with international law. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department subsequently indicated that the Biden administration has not found Israel "to be in violation of international humanitarian law," drawing outrage from analysts and members of Congress who say it is obvious Israel is committing war crimes. in Gaza.
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In a joint statement on Friday, dozens of civil society groups warned that the newly approved military aid risks deepening U.S. complicity in an assault that has killed more than 34,000 people and put millions at risk of starvation.
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"To sit and schmooze with the president while he sends billions of dollars in weapons to Israel to kill their colleagues in Gaza is unethical and immoral."
Apr 27, 2024
On Saturday night, U.S. reporters and government officials—including President Joe Biden—will gather at the Washington Hilton Hotel for the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, a glitzy, humor-filled affair that has faced mounting boycott calls in recent weeks as Palestinian journalists in Gaza are targeted and killed by the Israeli military in appalling numbers.
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"I have attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner for the past two years," Hasan, a former MSNBC host, wrote on social media Saturday, hours before the event. "I decided not to attend today's dinner (which, to be clear, is hosted by D.C. journalists not the White House) in solidarity with under-fire Palestinian journalists in Gaza who have called for a boycott."
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 97 media workers—92 of them Palestinian—have been killed in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon since October 7. The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate puts the number higher at 125.
"Israel has killed over 10% of our colleagues," said Shuruq As'ad, director of the Palestine Journalism Hub and supporter of calls to boycott the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which is hosted by the White House Correspondents' Association.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), an organization representing more than 600,000 media workers across 146 countries, endorsed the boycott push on Saturday, as did the National Writers Union (NWU).
"More than 100 journalists and media workers have been killed in the past six months of Israel's war on Gaza, backed by the United States government," NWU said in a statement. "As a union of journalists and media workers who strive for truth, we refuse to normalize genocide. Stand with journalists in Gaza and amplify the call for a boycott."
Israel's assault on Gaza, which has been fueled by U.S. weapons and diplomatic support, is the deadliest conflict for journalists in decades. Last year, roughly 75% of the journalists killed globally were killed by Israeli forces.
Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, has lost five family members to Israeli airstrikes, including his 27-year-old son Hamza, who was also a journalist.
"To dine with him as he allows Palestinians to die of starvation by cutting off funding to critical humanitarian aid is despicable."
Press freedom groups have accused the Biden White House of failing to do enough to stop the Israeli military from targeting members of the media, who continue to risk their lives to show the world the devastation Israel is inflicting in Gaza.
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The New York Timesreported that in addition to the jokes, Biden is "expected to issue a more serious warning at a time when journalists around the world are being jailed or detained more frequently for doing their job."
But it remains to be seen whether the president will mention Gaza journalists specifically.
President Biden will address the White House Correspondents Dinner tonight. It’s expected that’ll he’ll mention threats to journalists around the world. Will he mention Israel’s murder of Shireen Abu Aqlah & the scores of Palestinian journalists murdered in Gaza? Probably not. pic.twitter.com/nA6M2t9nK9
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) April 27, 2024
Protests are expected outside the dinner's venue, but as NBC Newsreported, "protests inside the event itself are much less common and perhaps unprecedented, given the tight security."
"People involved in organizing the protests said they knew of no plans to try to infiltrate the exclusive invite-only dinner," the outlet added. (Kelly O'Donnell, NBC's senior White House correspondent, is presiding over this year's dinner.)
Sandra Tamari, executive director of the Adalah Justice Project, which helped organize the letter calling for a boycott of Saturday's dinner, said it's grotesque for reporters who claim to be committed to a free press to pal around with members of an administration that is aiding deadly attacks on journalists in Gaza.
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